Chapter 6: Present Risenness

Read Chapter 6. Manning observes that many Christians treat the resurrection as a past event or a future hope. Either way, Christ's presence ends up pushed into some other time. He proposes that the resurrection is a present reality, true on good days and bad ones. Awareness of the risen Jesus within, beside, before, and around us brings a growing sense of security and a more integrated daily life.

The road to Emmaus reads almost like a case study. Two followers are walking away from Jerusalem, "talking with each other about all these things that had happened." Listen to how they describe Jesus: he "was a prophet mighty in deed and word." Past tense. Then: "we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel." Also past tense. They even mention the empty tomb and the report of angels, but "him they did not see." The resurrection news is on the table, yet to them it is just information about something that happened elsewhere.

Now look at the detail that makes this so personal. "Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him." He was right beside them in the middle of their disappointment. They didn't feel his presence, and he was there anyway. He asked a question, "What things?" He let them tell their story before he spoke.

Then he opened the Scriptures, and at the table, "he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him." Afterward they said, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road?" Look at that. The heart was already warming on the road, before they knew who was speaking. Sometimes you notice later that he was close the whole time.

This is what makes ordinary hours matter. Jesus said, "I am with you always" (Matthew 28:20). If that is present-tense true, then a commute, a hospital waiting room, a kitchen table, and a long evening can each be places of meeting. Manning links this awareness to security: if the risen Lord is with you in the hard day, the hard day doesn't get the last word.

A gentle note: awareness is not the same as feeling. If you are grieving, numb, or in deep depression, you may not sense him at all. The Emmaus story shows he draws near anyway. Please also lean on a pastor, counselor, or trusted friend. Sometimes presence comes through someone with a face.